Arkansas is bordered by Missouri on the north, Louisiana on the south. Oklahoma and Texas are Arkansas’ western neighbors. On the east, Arkansas is separated from Tennessee and Mississippi by the Mississippi River.
Arkansas might be considered a Crossroads State. Although it is a part of the South, it borders the Midwest. Yet much of the land is more similar to the Appalachian Mountains than to the Midwest or the South!
The Ozark Plateaus and Ouachita Mountains cover the northwest half of Arkansas. These highlands are related to the Appalachian Mountains.
The Ozark Plateaus are often called mountains. Yet plateaus are supposed to be flat. Are Arkansans crazy?
Not at all. Plateaus are flat lands that have been elevated. After they are raised, rivers and streams may create valleys. As the valleys become larger, the ridges they separate come to resemble mountains. The Ozarks are plateaus that have been carved into mountains. The mountains, by the way, have flattish tops.
The rugged, forested Ozarks are famed for their scenic beauty and underground rivers carrying dissolved minerals. Actually, they are better known for the areas where these streams burst forth as warm water springs. At Hot Springs National Park, visitors can relax in nearly four dozen springs that are 143 degrees year around. Such thermal springs give Arkansas the nickname Hot Water State.
Although Arkansas does not border the sea, southern Arkansas lies within the Gulf Coastal Plain. This region is mostly low and flat. Many people in the South build low dirt walls called dikes or levees to protect their homes from flooding rivers. Arkansas farmers may build such walls to keep water in their rice fields.
Low and flat also describes the Mississippi River Plain, which covers about one third of eastern Arkansas. Much of Arkansas’ best farmland is on the Mississippi River Plain. This is the region that is fertilized by the river when heavy rains cause it to overflow its normal channel.
The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism - 
